Federal Communications Commission gives the next generation of TV the go ahead

The FCC today gave US TV broadcasters permission to go ahead with development and deployment of the next generation of digital broadcast-to-air TV, a standard known as ATSC 3.0.

What is ATSC 3.0 television?
This announcement means that over the next few years ASTC 3.0 will become the way broadcasters transmit TV to our antennas. It will slowly replace the current broadcast standard ATSC 1.0, which defines things like 1080 HD broadcasts.

*Back in the days of analog TV (pre ATSC 1.0) a number of methods were required to improve TV quality.*

Why care?
The new standard will possibly become the way most of us experience 4K resolution TV on a regular basis (we discussed this is a previous post ). In addition to higher screen resolutions, the standard offers options for two-way data and interactive TV, something like an internet in the sky.

quoting from the book..

The Advanced Television Systems Committee or ATSC, is the body that formulates standards used for to digital over-the-air TV broadcasts used in the United States. The ATSC 3.0 standards suite, which include around 20 individual technical standards, will allow for the transmission of HDR (high dynamic range), 4K resolution TV signals and other information.

**Will it work with my TV?**
Probably not with the TV tuner component - at least for shows with resolutions greater than 1080HD. This will mean a new round of converter boxes much like those we used during the move from analog to digital (ATSC 1.0) TV. Alternatively we could use an external or networked tuner - when these become available with ATSC 3.0 support. There is no ATSC 3.0 consumer gear available yet, and much can change as the use of the new standard evolves.